I would love to give La Caille a 5-star review, but glaring issues with the wedding department left us very disappointed. The venue is stunning, the wait staff is very attentive, and the food is delicious. Overall, our guests enjoyed themselves immensely – perfect 5 stars in those areas.
Unfortunately, the event was very stressful for us and our immediate family, due to poor execution on the part of the wedding department. When we booked the venue, we met with our wedding coordinator. For the next seven months we communicated with her several times via telephone, internet and face-to-face meetings. Two weeks before the wedding we were informed that our coordinator had been promoted and therefore would not be at the wedding or the rehearsal. Additionally, one coordinator would be at the rehearsal and different one would be at the wedding.
When we expressed concern she reassured us that she had made copious note and both individuals were professionals. The week of wedding, when we asked if we could meet the wedding coordinator at the rehearsal, we were told that he was not available that day. We felt like La Caille did not make an effort to make us feel more comfortable with the last minute change. Instead, the day of the wedding, I rushed to get to the venue an hour early so I could meet with the coordinator.
It was really stressful when I arrived at the venue, and it became apparent many of the explicit notes we made with the original coordinator had not been passed on: seating chart, table arrangement, buffet orientation, name cards & guest book set up (I did not realize until later that the new table configuration meant all of the table numbers were off too - the grooms second cousins sat closer to us than his father). Just a few of the things that were not done as discussed, again on multiple occasions. The most upsetting of all was when I walked down the aisle with my father – it was too small. It was not even large enough for the groom and his brother to walk down next to each other. In two separate meetings with the original coordinator I requested a larger than normal aisle because the florist was using Sheppard’s hooks and I had a full dress. Needless to say, hours of planning were wasted
Equally unprofessional and frustrating, were the numerous times the new coordinator pulled us or our family members away from the reception to ask questions – all of which we had gone over extensively with the original coordinator. My favorite the three times they pulled us aside to tell us the open bar was running out. We made it very clear that once the bar tab was finished it would become a cash bar. Later a guest told us he mentioned the dwindling tab to the bartender after over hearing the coordinator speaking with us. The bartender told him there was still plenty of money on the tab. We feel like the coordinator was pushing us, and our parents, to put down more money (not to mention we found out later that the bartenders put out a tip jar which we were assured by the original wedding planner would not happen since a 20% gratuity was included in our bill). Two and a half hours into the wedding reception I had to tell the coordinator under no circumstance was he to pull us or any members of our family away from the reception – completely unacceptable.
Coordinating events is part of my job. I understand that things will not go perfectly, and there were details that did not but were understandable. Unfortunately, the issues listed above were unacceptable, given the amount of specific coordination we did on our end with the venue. Our concerns and requests were not taken seriously, and no attempt was made to work us after a critical, last minute change. Overall it was unprofessional and unsatisfactory delivery of contractual services. It was very frustrating blemish on what was otherwise an amazing day. We would recommend with caution.